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| 'Our Sisters' Sacrifice Saved Prisoners' Lives': Mystery of 11 Nuns Killed by Nazi Soldiers |
"The way they died is an important part of the story, but to me, they were ordinary women, ordinary nuns, who did something extraordinary and that's what makes them special."
80 years ago on August 1, 1943, 11 Roman Catholic nuns were killed by the German Nazi army.
Sister Klara Walczyk often visits the burial grounds of the nuns known as the "Martyrs of Nowogrojek".
Sister Clara, who is in the Eastern European country of Belarus, told the BBC by phone that the nuns saved the lives of 120 people who were later forced into forced labor.
On March 5, 2000, Pope John Paul II, speaking about these nuns, said, "Where did these women get such strength that they offered themselves in place of the imprisoned residents of Nowgrojek?"
However, there is no evidence that these nuns were killed in exchange for the release of a few prisoners.
Finding the facts
The story begins on September 4, 1929, when the first two nuns of the 'Holy Family of Nazareth Order' arrive in the small town of Nowogrojek.
At that time, the town had a population of 20,000 people and was under Polish control, but in September 1939, the Soviet Union occupied the town, after which the nuns had to leave their convent.
In 1941, the town came under the control of the German army. At that time the nuns had the opportunity to return to the convent. Half of the town's population consisted of Jews, against whom the Nazi army began operations.
The first massacre took place in December 1941 when 5100 Jews were killed. In August 1942, 4,500 Jews were killed.
In 1943, there were also many groups active in the area resisting the Nazi army. The Gestapo, Nazi Germany's secret police, arrested 180 people between July 17 and 19 to crush the resistance.
Soon the news spread that these arrested persons would be killed.
A monk's statement
Alexander Zenkevich was the only Catholic monk in the town. They were accompanied by 12 nuns, of which 55-year-old Sister Mary Stella was the oldest and 27-year-old Sister Mary Borromya was the youngest.
Alexander Zenkevich reports that after hearing of the arrests, Sister Stella 'simply said, 'O God if the sacrifice of life is required, accept it from us who have no family responsibilities and release those who have wives and children. To take care of.'
"We were all praying," Alexander Zenkevich testified long after the incident.
A week later, the nuns were summoned to the local police station.
Alexander's last meeting with Sister Stella was on July 31. "Sister Stella was restless," he says.
Sister Stella told them that she expected to be sent to Germany for forced labor.
Later, Sister Stella asked one of the nuns to stay in the church and went to the police station with the others.
The next day, when Alexander reached the church, he found that the nuns were not there. He felt a 'shock'.
Soon they learned that on that day, the morning of August 1, 1943, the nuns had been killed.
The purpose of this action of the Nazi soldiers was beyond their understanding. He had heard rumors of mistaken identity with the Gestapo because the secret police wanted to kill members of a different religious sect whom they suspected of aiding Soviet guerrilla fighters.
However, Alexander himself went into hiding. When the Nazi army was defeated in the area in March 1945, they discovered the bodies of the nuns and buried them near the church.
Evidence
Alexander's statement is correct according to Tamara Vershetskaya's research. Tamara founded a museum in 1992 and has been researching the extermination of Jews by Nazi Germany since retirement.
In 2011, he collaborated with the American Holocaust Memorial Museum to interview eyewitnesses of the incident.
"Maria Karawiska was the only person who told me the story," she says. His two brothers were sent to Germany.
Maria told them that 112 Polish citizens had been sent to Germany.
Tamara Varshetskaya discovered a list written in German. It contained the names of 95 Polish citizens who were deported to Germany.
Maria tells Tamara that three of her brothers were arrested but one managed to escape. He was accused of running a secret resistance movement. The German army was planning to kill them. Even their graves had been dug.
Wilhelm Traub, the officer in charge, was not present when the Gestapo detained 180 people. He belonged to a German family that had a lot of farming land.
"As soon as Wilhelm learned of these arrests, he arrived in Minsk and requested the higher authorities to send these prisoners to work on their farms," says Tamara.
"Maria told me that the officer spoke to her brothers in Polish and asked them to bring supplies from their home."
The next day all the prisoners were asked to reach the railway station order was given.
"It is a fact that after the arrest, the Polish family went to the church and appealed for help," he says.
The nuns prayed for him. It is also possible that the old nun may have prayed that if a sacrifice is required, it should be taken from us. I believe this may be true.
However, there is no evidence that there was any deal between the Nazi soldiers and the nuns to replace those arrested.
They believe that the arrest of the nuns had nothing to do with the release of Polish citizens.
'God accepted their sacrifice'
According to Tamara, all those sent to Germany returned alive.
Sister Amables is now the head of this church. He presented the Church's position on the events, which states that "all witnesses agree that these nuns sacrificed their lives for their faith, love of God and neighbor."
When he was questioned about the lack of evidence, he said, "He spoke the word of sacrifice and we believe that God accepted his sacrifice."
Despite the declining religious trend in the town, Sister Clara sticks to her beliefs. "I believe that the sacrifice of our sisters saved the lives of the prisoners," she says.
"I know that human thought sees the facts differently, but God heard their voice and recognized their sacrifice."